Syracuse, NY — About two weeks ago, Syracuse coach Fran Brown spoke with Greg Hopkins, who helps run one of the most prominent youth football programs in Rochester.
Three of Hopkins’ best players in the Rochester-based Changing the Community football program had moved out of the state in recent years in effort to bolster their college football recruitments.
Brown, Hopkins said, wondered why that was happening. He also wondered why Syracuse football hadn’t been the first program to jump into the recruiting battles for Colorado State wide receiver Justus Ross-Simmons, Louisville tight end Jamari Johnson and Class of 2026 prospects Messiah Hampton and Zayden Walters.
Brown left the meeting and requested Hopkins send tape of all of CTC’s prospects to Syracuse football’s scouting department. He promised each would be given a grade.
Out of that full-scale effort came a scholarship offered to Syracuse’s recent commitment in the Class of 2025, an unheralded defensive back named Amari Colon whose other college options included only FCS and Division II schools.
“It was interesting how it happened,” Hopkins said. “Fran was interested in a few players we had who were younger. He told us, ‘I want to know all your guys.’ He’d just missed out on a guy that went to Louisville and Justus-Ross Simmons didn’t get offered by Syracuse. He said, ‘Hold on, all these kids from Rochester are going other places. I want them to stay home.’ “
Colon, who plays high school football for James Monroe High School, had no presence on any of the four major college football recruiting websites before committing to the Orange on Tuesday.
He’d initially committed to Central Connecticut State University, which beat out offers from Maine and Eastern Illinois. Colon said he had been planning to sign a National Letter of Intent with the Blue Devils in January, only to learn days before National Signing Day that he wouldn’t be eligible to play Division I. He said he failed a core class during his freshman year.
Colon was planning on playing Division II football as a member of the Class of 2024 at Glenville State (West Virginia) — with the goal of eventually transferring up — until Brown watched his film last Friday, setting up a whirlwind recruitment.
Colon plans to come to Syracuse in the Class of 2025, after spending a year at Trinity-Pawling to get academically eligible. Hopkins noted the academic issue occurred as the coronavirus forced students to take classes virtually. He said that Colon finished his most recent marking period with As and Bs.
In a fascinating twist, his early academic misstep means Colon expects to begin his football career at Syracuse rather than at a lower-level.
“It all worked out in the end,” Colon said. “That’s all that matters.”
Colon came down to the campus with his father and his grandmother, an ardent Florida State fan, to watch the Syracuse-FSU softball game on Saturday. He did not know he was going to be offered a scholarship. Brown said he planned to meet them there. Colon mostly believed him.
The coach hung out and talked softball. He took Colon’s height and weight. Then he offered him a scholarship.
It was Colon’s first FBS offer. He accepted it in a matter of days.
“It’s crazy,” Colon said. “It all happened way too fast. I haven’t really had a chance to take it in yet.”
Hopkins attributed Colon’s lack of college options to what he considers chronic under-recruitment of the Rochester area by major college football programs. He is also Colon’s offensive coordinator at James Monroe, where Colon transferred to improve his recruitment after playing the previous year at Greece-Olympia/Greece-Odyssey.
One of the most frustrating cases of schools not showing interest in Rochester athletes, Hopkins said, has been Syracuse, a school located just an hour down the road.
Brown’s recruitment of Colon, he hopes, is a sign that is changing.
“When you know you have a [P4] kid and he’s finally able to get what he deserves it feels good to see him enjoy what happened,” Hopkins said.
Hopkins said that when Brown watched Colon’s film he came away impressed by his ability to change direction suddenly and the number of big plays he made due to his explosiveness. Colon said the coach told him his skills at wide receiver would translate to defensive back.
Brown’s assessment validated the CTC staff’s belief that Colon was a Power-Four talent without Power-Four offers.
Hopkins said the CTC program was founded in either 2009 or 2010. Former Syracuse football players Ashton Broyld and Chauncey Scissum both participated in the program growing up in Rochester.
Recently, though, CTC players hadn’t been able to attract much interest from Syracuse.
The families of Ross-Simmons and Johnson both moved across the country when Syracuse and other power programs didn’t seem interested.
Ross-Simmons wound up spending two productive years at Colorado State. He said he transferred to Syracuse primarily to be closer to his family and receive a higher level of coaching. He will enter training camp as the most proven Division I wide receiver on Brown’s roster.
Johnson blossomed into an Army-All American in high school and one of the Top 200 recruits in the Class of 2023. By the time he picked Louisville, he’d also been offered by Michigan, Alabama and Florida State.
“He moved to Cali to gain exposure because the other SU staff didn’t offer,” said Bruce Johnson, a coach and former player with CTC who went on to become an All-CAA first-team player at Maine. “Go figures.”
“It happens to a lot of our kids, man” Hopkins said. “It was the same thing with (Class of 2026 prospect) Zayden Walters. He didn’t have any offers from here.”
If Syracuse had shown interest earlier, the coaches said, their families might not have needed to go to such great lengths.
Syracuse took CBA-Albany’s David Clement as its tight end in the Class of 2023, and Babers did leave Brown a well-stocked selection of tight ends that includes Oronde Gadsden II, converted quarterback Dan Villari and incoming freshman Jamie Tremble (initial commitment was to Babers).
Brown, meanwhile, has offered two other players who play in the CTC program.
Wide receiver Messiah Hampton is ranked as the No. 1 player in the state in the Class of 2026 by 247Sports. He was offered by Brown in January and was Colon’s teammate at James Monroe last season.
Syracuse offered Walters, an offensive lineman in the Class of 2026, earlier this month. That offer came shortly after Brown’s initial conversation with CTC coaches. Walters played for Greece-Athena last season but recently moved to Georgia in an effort to bolster his college recruitment. He’s been offered by Florida State, Mississippi and others.
Hopkins said both players visited Syracuse’s campus in April of 2022.
While they left with pictures taken in Syracuse gear, neither left with an offer to play for the Orange. Hopkins said he considered it disappointing that Syracuse wasn’t the first school to recognize a pair of local talents.
He said based on how the Colon recruitment went, it’s something he doesn’t expect to happen with Brown leading the effort.
“He’s been intentional,” Hopkins said. “That’s why he’s the No. 1 recruiter in the country. You recognize a program in the area that has a history of kids going to D-1 and performing well and you take their word for it and then you see it (on film).”
Contact Chris Carlson anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-382-7932
